MLB Rule 5 Draft: Phillies pass at the major league level, select five minor league players

The Philadelphia Phillies were one of 19 MLB teams that did not select anyone in the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft that took place in Nashville, Tennessee yesterday.

MLB Rule 5 Draft Eligibility

A player is eligible for the Rule 5 draft, which takes place annually at baseball’s Winter Meetings, when he is not on his team’s 40-man roster after playing four or five seasons in the organization. It’s four seasons for players signed at age 19 or older, five seasons for those signed at 18 or younger. [NBC Sports Philly]

The Phillies passed on a major league player yesterday which makes sense because if selected, that player must remain on the 40-man roster or injured list for the entirety of the upcoming season.

Last year, the Phillies selected Noah Song from the Boston Red Sox. Song, who dominated at the collegiate level was an active member of the United States Navy.

The pick never worked out for the Phillies. Song hadn’t pitched in nearly four years and was DFA’d right before the trade deadline after he recovered from a back injury that held him out for the majority of last season.

Basically, the Phillies couldn’t store him on the injured list and didn’t think he was ready to be added to the active roster, so they had no choice but to designate Noah Song for assignment. 

This year the Phillies went the opposite route and didn’t select anyone in the major league phase of the Rule 5 Draft. They did however, select five players in the minor league phase and now have the option to assign those players at any level of their farm system. 

Phillies Minor League Rule 5 Draft Selections:

• Catcher Will Simoneit from the Athletics
• Catcher Luis Caicuto from the Diamondbacks
• Catcher Carson Taylor from the Dodgers (left-handed hitter)
• Infielder Trevor Schwecke from the Blue Jays
• First baseman Bryce Ball from the Guardians (left-handed hitter)

Updates: MLB Winter Meetings

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